Sales & Earnings

The German biotech has highlighted its myelofibrosis drug candidate, pelabresib, as a key value driver going forward after a year of hard knocks and lackluster Monjuvi sales that forced the firm to downsize its workforce and cease preclinical operations.

While reproductive medicine and maternal health remains the mainstay for the Swiss group, Ferring president Per Falk says the approvals of the microbiome treatment Rebyota and bladder cancer gene therapy Adstiladrin represent "important avenues for exploration and growth."

Given the renewed interest in the commercial potential of obesity therapies, Zealand is heralding the potential of its treatments for the overweight.

The German firm is eyeing licensing opportunities in 2023 to fill up its mid-stage pipeline.

Ampreloxetine failed in a Phase III trial in 2021, but the company will start a registrational trial by the end of Q1 for the drug in the multiple system atrophy population, where it has shown efficacy.

“We're looking at opportunities almost on a weekly basis,” Bayer’s pharma chief Stefan Oelrich told Scrip as the German major posted a solid set of financials for the fourth quarter.

The Swedish group’s Tarpeyo is reaping the benefits of an expanded US sales force and the company is confident of a big revenue rise in 2023, regardless of new competition in the IgAN field from Travere’s Filspari.

The company reported a fourth quarter decline in SARS-CoV-2 vaccine sales and guided for sales of $5bn in 2023. It is looking ahead to filing for approval of its RSV vaccine.

While sales for the dual interleukin-17A and IL-17F inhibitor only reached €35m last year, UCB immunology chief Emmanuel Caeymaex is confident that figure will leap over the €200m barrier in 2023, if US approval for Bimzelx for psoriasis comes in the next quarter. 

Biocon Biologics’ CEO indicates that interchangeability may not be pivotal to commercial success in the US for biosimilar adalimumab and that the firm’s Humira rival “checks the key boxes.”

Putting its CEO crisis and takeover rumors behind it, Seagen has big plans to expand its leading position in antibody-drug conjugates in 2023.

Just how dynamic is the China market for multinationals? AstraZeneca is seeing growth returning while Pfizer is finding it challenging to estimate Paxlovid demand, Sanofi is encouraged by volume gains and GSK is predicting a "sizeable" rebound. Top executives from Novartis and Roche also shed light on other challenges facing global pharma firms in the world's second-largest pharma market as they reported annual results.